


Cop Dad

by ChickenXD



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Dating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-19 01:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11887035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChickenXD/pseuds/ChickenXD
Summary: The Saul route we all want and deserve. I'm gonna attempt to make it as close as possible to the style of the game.





	1. Intro

I’m sitting on the couch, watching a home renovations show. Not exactly my cup of tea, but Paranormal Ice Truckers is on break right now and there really isn’t anything else to watch on TV. Hell, I’m not even sure what the show is called, but seems like their objective is buying ugly-ass houses and then renovating them to look pretty. 

I glance at the clock – it’s almost 7 PM, but Amanda isn’t home yet. She said there’s going to be a basketball match tonight and she’s helping the yearbook team take a few pictures – even then, I think it’s about time for the match to be over, so she should be coming home soon, right? 

I pick up my phone and see if she’s texted me yet – but nothing. Maybe she’s staying there longer to hang out with her friends or something?

“Hey Panda, still at school?”

I hit send on my text and wait for the three typing dots to appear – but even after a few minutes, they don’t appear. Well, at least I’ve texted her, so she knows to reply or call me when she sees it. 

I wonder if she’s eaten dinner. 

Wait, I haven’t had dinner either. 

I get up and walk to the fridge to see what’s inside. There’s some eggs, some flour tortillas left from our taco project the other day, some lettuce – as I dig further in the fridge I find some chorizo, although it’s wrapped in plastic so it no longer has an expiration date – it smells fine though. Guess I’ll try to make something out of these. 

I should make some food for Amanda too, just in case she hasn’t had dinner – and if she has, I can keep them for tomorrow. 

I’m in the middle of frying up some eggs when I hear someone knock on the door. I quickly turn off the stove and head to it–

I open the door expecting Amanda to be there, but instead standing in front of me is a very tall, big man in a green coat. I slowly look up to him and I see he’s staring me down – damn, he looks scary. His face is stern, he’s got a bushy beard, and he has a scar across his left eye…

I nervously smile at him. This guy looks like he can break me with his eyes – what is such a guy doing in my house? Did the previous owner of this house owe him money or something, and now he’s coming after me? 

“Are you Amanda’s dad?”

Stay calm, stay calm, don’t let him sense any fear. 

“Y… yes, that would be me.”

Oh no, is she in trouble. 

The man nods slowly and extends his right hand to me for a handshake. 

“My name is Saul. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, sir…”

Oh, oh god, this guy’s handshake is strong. I shake my hand slightly to lessen the pain from his extra strong grip. 

Suddenly appearing from behind him is… Amanda. Oh, thank goodness she’s alright. 

“Thank you so much for driving me home, Mr. Graves!” she said, and Saul smiles at her warmly. 

“I was worried when Amanda told me she’s going to walk home after the basketball match. It’s already dark out, after all, so I offered to drive her home,” Saul explains, “My son Barry just joined the basketball team.”

Saul points at his car, and I see a boy sitting in the passenger seat, wearing the school jersey. 

“Thank you so much for driving Amanda home,” I said nervously, and I see her holding back her laughter. 

“Don’t be so scared, dad, Mr. Graves is nice!”

HE’S STILL AT LEAST TWICE MY SIZE, AMANDA. 

“Well, I suppose I should get going then,” Saul said, “See you around soon.”

“Thank you again, Saul.”

“See you around!” Amanda waves excitedly at him as he walks back to his car. We watch him drive away, and then I close the door. 

I breathe a sigh of relief and fall to my knees. Amanda just starts to laugh at me. 

“I thought I was going to die, Amanda.”

“Oh, come on, dad,” she said, patting my shoulder, “I think everyone was scared of him at first, but he’s really nice! We’ve seen him around school a few times to support the basketball team.”

Amanda throws herself onto the couch and switches the channel from the home improvement channel – news, sports, cartoon, more news… Amanda switches off the TV and takes out her camera instead, starting to go through some pictures. 

“You had anything to eat, Panda?”

“Just had a slice of pizza and some Gatorade.”

“I’ll make you something to eat then.”

“Yay! Thanks, dad!”

 


	2. First date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Saul's dadbook page here: http://worldofbirbs.tumblr.com/post/164482423406  
> I tried to make links for the options, but AO3 can't do in page hyperlinks, I'm sorry!

Saul seems… pretty scary, but Amanda also said he’s nice, and I guess he drove Amanda home. Maybe I should try to get to know him better. 

“Hey, Saul. Thank you for driving Amanda home the other day. Are you free this Saturday? We should go get lunch together.”

And I’ll pay for it to return the favor, but I shouldn’t tell him now. 

A few minutes later a reply comes in. 

_ “Thank you for the offer, but my son has something to attend to tomorrow. Maybe we can go next Saturday, if you’re free.” _

“Sure, sounds good to me!”

  
  


“Dad?”

I open my eyes slowly, and the first thing I see is Amanda. I feel her hand on my shoulder, shaking me to wake up. 

“Dad…” Amanda pouts, “Come on dad, wake up.”

“What?” I ask, “It’s Saturday…”

“We’re going to the park, remember?”

“I just went there with Craig yesterday…”

“No dad, we’re hanging out with Daisy, remember?”

Are we? Because I don’t really remember. 

“It’s the pet adoption drive, remember?”

Oh, I remember. Amanda really knows what matters to me. 

I quickly get up and throw some pants on. Amanda just laughs at me.

 

The park is already pretty crowded when we get there. There are a few families there, and most importantly… a lot of animals. I see they’ve set up a fence so that the animals can run around inside.

I see Brian watching some of the dogs in the pen, and Daisy is inside the pen with Maxwell. Maxwell seems especially excited since he’s making a lot of new friends. Amanda quickly hops over the fence and joins her, too. 

“Getting another one, Brian?”

“Well, we’ll see,” Brian said, “It’d be nice to get old Maxwell a friend.”

I look around and see Mary and Damien – they seem to be talking to some interested adopters. Well, good to know that some of them are going to a good home. 

“Dad!” Amanda calls me – she’s holding a husky pup in her arms, “Can we get this one?”

“Sorry, girl, someone’s got dibs on that one!” Mary calls out to her. Amanda still continues to play with it, though. 

Suddenly I notice someone walking towards us – it’s Saul. His big figure kind of makes him stand out from the crowd. I also see his son walking next to him, carrying a basketball. What’s his son’s name again…?

“Hi, Saul!” I wave at him, and he waves back at me. 

Wait, I thought he has something to do today and that’s why he declined my offer to lunch...

“Hello,” he greets me, and then turns to Brian, “Hello, I’m Saul and this is my son Barry. Nice to meet you.”

“Brian, nice to meet you!” Brian shakes Saul’s hand, “I’ve never seen you around here before!”

“Yeah, we live on the other side of town,” Saul replies, “Barry sometimes likes to come here to play basketball with his friends, though, but I didn’t really expect to see all these animals here…”

“We’re gonna get a dog!” Barry chimes in excitedly, and I see Saul sigh. 

“Boy, I told you we don’t have space in the house.”

“Come on, pops, he can sleep in my room!” Barry said, “You’ve always wanted a dog, too!”

“Dad!” Daise suddenly calls out, “I think Maxwell needs to, uh… poop.”

“Oh man,” Brian sighs as he turns to us, “Sorry, friends, gotta take care of business.”

Daisy takes Maxwell by the leash and leads him out of the pen – Brian helps them open the door, and soon they’re gone.

Saul sighs as he turns back to Barry, “When are your friends coming?”

Barry takes out his phone to check, “They said in ten minutes.”

“Let’s not do it today, okay? We can always come to the shelter some other day,” Saul said. Barry seems a bit disappointed, but he nods anyway.

“I’ll just play with the dogs until my friends get here.”

“Sure.”

And so Barry hops through the fence to join the dogs inside. Us dads stand outside, watching them. This silence is getting awkward – maybe I should try to strike conversation with Saul…

 

  * Talk about Barry.
  * Talk about Saul.
  * I thought you can’t make it today. 



 

**“How old is he?”**

“Oh, he’s fourteen,” Saul replies. 

“Fourteen?!” 

I would have guessed he’s sixteen or seventeen! He’s almost as tall as me, and he’s definitely got a bigger build too…

“Yeah, he’s a pretty tall kid,” Saul said.

“Sure takes after you, huh?”

Saul just smiles at that remark.

“Got a few years before I need to start paying for college tuition,” Saul sighs, “I’m out of luck if he doesn’t go to public school.”

“Oh Saul, buddy, that’s my reality right now.”

“Right, Amanda’s a senior, isn’t she?” 

  
  


**“How far is your house from here?”**

“Not too far actually, about twenty minutes by car,” Saul replied, “It’s closer to where I work, though.”

“Oh, where do you work?”

“At the police station,” he said, “I’m a detective.”

Oh that… that definitely explains a lot about why he’s so scary-looking to me. 

“How long have you been a detective?”

“Been a while now… I remember Barry was just starting school when I started,” Saul said.

“It’s a pretty stressful job, right? You have to constantly be out on the field, doing interrogations and stuff…”

“Well, it definitely isn’t as dramatic as they make it look on those TV shows,” Saul said with a laugh, “It’s tiring, but well, it’s for the good of the people.”

  
  


**“So you guys come here every Saturday?”**

“Well, every other Saturday,” Saul corrects me, “I try to spend some time with him on the weekends since I usually have to work ten hours a day.”

“I see…”

Being a police officer sure is demanding… I’m quietly thankful for my job, which I can do from home so I’m always available for Amanda.

“So yeah, sorry about the confusion about my reply the other day,” Saul said, “We can still definitely go out next Saturday, though.”

“Yeah, of course, no problem!”

  
  


Barry finishes playing with the dogs, and gets out of the pen. I see a few teenagers approaching us – these must be Barry’s friends. I watch them talk for a while–

Barry suddenly turns from his friends, and walks towards Saul.

“Hey pops, I just remembered that we’re going to celebrate Chad’s birthday,” he said sheepishly, “So uh… we’re going to his house later.”

“I see,” Saul said, “That’s fine. What time do you think you’ll be done?”

“Maybe around three or four in the afternoon? I’ll text you his address later.”

Saul nods. 

“Thanks, pops!” Barry said as he runs back to his friends. 

 

Now it’s just the two of us again. Well, uh… I’m out of things to talk about…

Saul turns to me with a smile.

“Well, I guess we can have lunch together, then,” Saul said, “Your daughter should come along.”

“Oh, uh… sure!”

Well, that’s definitely unexpected...

“Hey, Amanda! You wanna come have lunch with us?”

“I’m good!” she shouts back at me, “I’ll stay here and help out a bit!”

“You better actually be helping out!” I tell her, “I’ll come back here in an hour!”

  
  


We both walk together to a restaurant not too far away from the beach. It’s pretty crowded inside, but we manage to find a seat in the corner. 

Saul orders a burger and fries, while I order a fried chicken sandwich. 

Saul is… definitely a quiet guy. It’s not like he’s avoiding me or anything like that, but in sort of a cautious, “don’t talk to strangers” way. I think we can get along as long as I stay on his good side, though. 

“It’s kind of funny, you know,” Saul said, “Just last year Barry and I were looking at your house.”

“Really?” I asked, “Why did you decide against it then?”

“Well, first of all it’s pretty far away from work,” Saul said, “And also I think it’s a little too small for us.”

“I see,” I said, “I mean, I’ll be by myself when Amanda goes to college, so it fits me pretty well.”

“By yourself?”

“Ah… yeah.” 

Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that so casually. Now he seems concerned. 

We both fall silent for a minute. Oh damn, and just when I thought we had a good conversation going, I just have to fuck it up and make everything awkward…

“Anyway,” Saul said with a smile, “I hope Amanda’s adjusting well to the new neighborhood.”

Wow, he really knows how to hold a conversation. That’s a pretty good recovery.

“Yeah, she’s made a couple friends,” I said, “You saw Brian, right? Amanda hangs out with his daughter sometimes.”

“Has she gotten her college acceptances?”

“Yeah, we’re still waiting on a few of them, but she’s gotten a couple, I think.”

“That’s good,” Saul nods with a smile, “Congratulations.”

“What about Barry?” I ask, “I know he’s still got a few years, but does he roughly know what he wants to do?”

“Yeah, he’s… actually got a pretty good idea,” Saul sighs, “He wants to join the military or go to the police academy.”

“Just like his dad?”

“Well, I do want him to go to college,” Saul said, “I’ve seen a lot of things working as a cop, you know, and I really don’t want him to see some of them. But that kid, he’s not big on academics, so…” he sighs again, “I don’t know.”

“You can get him to do law, or social work,” I suggest, “I’m sure he’ll find something he’s interested in.”

Saul nods, and seems to think it over. Clearly he’s spent some time thinking about this as well.

“You’ve got time to think about it, Saul.”

Saul nods with a smile, “Thank you for the suggestions, though.”

 

We walk back to the park together. The adoption drive is still there, and I see Amanda’s at the table helping Mary and Damien out. It’s good to see her be a good member of the society.

“You want to look at more dogs, Saul?”

“I’m fine. Since Barry’s going to take a while, I think I should stop by my friend’s place,” Saul said, “We should have lunch again soon.”

“Thanks, Saul, it was fun hanging out with you!”


	3. Second Date

It was fun hanging out with Saul the other day. Maybe Amanda’s right about him not being such a scary guy after all – I feel like we can get along. I should see if we can hang out again this weekend.

“Hey Saul, it was fun having lunch with you last time. We should hang out again this Saturday, if you’re free.”

A few minutes later an answer comes in.

_“I was just thinking if you might be free tomorrow night. I’d like to take you somewhere.”_

Oh, that sounds nice… like a date…

We agree that he’s going to pick me up tomorrow at eight. This is pretty exciting!

  


The next day Saul pulls up in front on my driveway in his car – it’s an old black sedan, almost like those cars they show in old detective movies.

Saul gets out of the car and opens the passenger door for me. Man, that’s a smooth gentleman move, I’m weak.

Amanda nudges me in the arm and smiles coyly. Damn, girl, don’t call me out like this.

“How are you?” Saul asks me with a smile, “Have you had dinner?”

“Yeah.”

He notices Amanda standing behind me and waves at her, so she waves back to him.

“Please bring my dad home before eleven. That’s his curfew,” she said with her fake deep voice. I see Saul can’t help but chuckle at that.

“Yes, ma’am, I’ll make sure to drive him home on time.”

This sure reminds me of my high school days…

 

I get into the passenger seat, and Saul closes the door for me before he gets into the driver seat.

“So where are we going, Saul?”

“The beach,” he replied, “We’ll take a walk, maybe stop by the restaurant for some more food. They have some good fish and chips.”

“I didn’t take you to be the kind of guy who takes walks at the beach.”

“It’s nighttime, so it’s nice and quiet,” Saul replies, “I see enough chaos and drama at work, I just want peace and quiet.”

He takes out a CD from the glove compartment and inserts it into the player.

“I hope you like Amy Winehouse.”

 

  * Yass queen!
  * It’s a shame what happened to her.
  * I’ve heard of her.



 

He presses play, and the music starts playing.

“Well, she’s not the only musician who died young, I guess,” Saul said, “But something about her makes me sad.”

“Because she died?”

“Well, more than that. You kind of get a feeling that she’s going through, or have been through a lot of pain, and she tries to escape all that with drugs, alcohol… which just ultimately led to her death.”

Saul falls silent then, and we let the music fill the air. Amy’s music really is something else, alright –

  
  


We arrive at the beach, and just like Saul said, it’s completely empty.

It is kind of nice. The full moon is hanging in the night sky, and stars are scattered across the sky. The wind is kind of cold, but the sea breeze is gentle against my skin. Occasionally the waves crash loudly against  the shore.

I can see the small shop by the dock – it’s brightly lit inside and there are some people inside.

“Are you cold?”

“I think I’m fine,” I said – I’m wearing a hoodie, but it’s cold enough that I’m hugging myself. Saul just smiles and takes out a police jacket from the back seat and hands it to me. It’s way too big for me of course, but at least it’s warm and comfortable.

“Is that better?”

I nod.

“Let’s eat first.”

“Sounds good to me.”

 

We enter the shop. It’s pretty crowded, but there are still a couple empty spots. Saul orders fish and chips for both of us before we sit down at an empty table on the deck. It might be a little colder out here, but at least there’s nobody around.

I look out to the sea, and I see a yacht parked some distance away from us. As I turn to look at Saul, I notice that he’s looking at it, too.

“That’s a nice yacht, huh?” I comment, “The high life.”

“Yeah, that’s the stuff we can only dream of.”

I grab a piece of fish and start eating. Damn, it’s really hot and crisp.

“Real good, right?”

I nod excitedly at Saul.

“So, anything exciting going on?” I ask, “Any serial killers on the loose?”

“Well, there’s been a few minor crime cases here and there, but nothing like that,” Saul replies, “Now that you mentioned it, I haven’t really solved a serial killer case yet.”

“Would be really scary if you ever come across one.”

He nods solemnly, “That’s just part of my job now.”

We both fall silent as I try out the fries – they’re just as good as the fish, I’m impressed.

I look at Saul and notice that he, too, is staring at me. Well, I’ve asked him about work, and right now I’m not too sure what we should talk about…

“So how is it at your neighborhood?”

“Fine,” I reply – why does he suddenly ask? “I know everyone’s name by now, I guess.”

“Are they all nice? None of them is acting weird?”

“Well, you’ll need to define weird,” I said, “My next door neighbor Joseph is a pastor and he’s got four kids. That’s a little weird to me.”

Saul can’t help but chuckle at that.

“Wait until he has to pay for all of them in college.”

“Yeah, exactly!”

I take another bite of my fish fillet when I feel a hand tap my shoulder. I quickly turn around to look –

“Oh hey, it’s the two people I can call my friends.”

Robert’s standing behind me, holding a plate of fish and chips and also a bottle of whisky. He places them both on the remaining empty space on our table, then pulls a seat from another table to sit with us.

“You two on a date or something?”

“Well, we’re just having dinner,” Saul replies.

Wait, Saul and Robert know each other? Now what’s the story behind that?

Robert chugs some of his whisky, and then turns to me and pats my back.

“I’m glad my two good friends are dating,” he said, “Tell me when the wedding is. I’ll be your best man.”

“Robert…”

“Anyway!” he said, “You guys up for some ghost-hunting tonight?”

I glance at Saul and notice that he just shrugs. Wait, is he actually going along with this?

“How much have you been drinking?”

“Just this bottle,” Robert said – and I see he’s finished a little more than half of it. “I think they’re going to start a drinking game in there soon, though.”

Saul sighs, “Robert–”

“Come on, Saul, free alcohol is always good,” Robert said.

“Only if you win, right?”

Robert smirks as he nudges Saul in the arm, “I always win, big guy.”

Saul could only sigh. Robert now turns his attention to me.

“How about you? Wanna join me?”

I nervously shake my head. Robert is like a bottomless jar for alcohol, and anyone who thinks they can best him at drinking are fools.

“Okay, weak.”

“I’m trying to not die of alcohol poisoning, Robert…”

“I know, I know,” Robert laughs as he stuffs his face with fries.

“Hey Rob!” someone calls from inside, “It’s starting!”

“Fuck, didn’t even get a chance to eat yet!” He gets up from his seat and pats Saul’s back, “Be back in a bit.”

Saul sighs, “Don’t overdo it, old man.”

I watch Robert walk in and join the others.

“Oh, they’re playing based on the movie,” Saul said, “Like, if a certain thing happens, or if someone says something.”

“It’s gonna take a while, I guess.”

Saul’s silent as he watches over Robert. Robert seems to be trying to finish his food as quickly as possible so he can quickly join the others.

“Will you mind if we wait for him?” Saul asks, “I want to make sure he goes home safely.”

“No problem. Dads watch out for each other, am I right?”

I definitely wouldn’t want Robert to try to drive home by himself either.

“But how did you and Robert meet?”

“Well, I see him at the station sometimes,” Saul replies, “And you know, I tried to talk him out of drinking so much, it’s bad for your liver, it’s dangerous when you’re driving – and he told me to fuck off.”

Sounds about right.

“But you know, he remembered me from that,” Saul goes on, “We say hi to each other, and sometimes he calls me to pick him up at the bar…”

“You seem a little concerned for him.”

“Of course. I don’t want him to end up dead in the sewer or anything like that.”

We both fall silent. I notice that as Saul watches Robert inside the shop, his expression softens a little, his eyes affectionate.

“Yeah, you know, he’s going through some stuff,” he mutters, “It can’t be easy, living alone without your child. Maybe he feels lonely all the time, and I want to be a friend for him, you know?”

Saul turns to me then, his face suddenly serious again.

“Please keep an eye on him for me, too.”

“Sure thing, Saul.”

  


We finish the rest of our food in silence and head inside to put our plates back.

The drinking party sure is in full swing. There are a few people who have already quit and resigned to sitting down at their tables. Of course our Robert isn’t one of them – he’s among one of the five people left, and he’s going at it.

Robert notices us coming, and waves at us.

“Hey,” Saul said, approaching him – “How much longer till you’re–”

“Shaky cam! Two shots!”

Robert immediately downs those two shots – I see the other contestants struggling to drink, but two of them did manage. The other two stumble off their seats in defeat. Saul could only sigh.

“Come on, Robert. It’s just the three of you left.”

“I’m gonna show these bastards who’s boss!”

“Robert–”

“Don’t be boring, Saul–”

“Hey man, it’s cool,” one of them suddenly said, “I don’t think I can drink any more.”

The other guy nods – he seems to be struggling to try to not throw up.

“Good for you guys to know your place!” Robert shouts at them, “Alright, let’s get another drink yto celebrate–”

“No, no,” Saul said, dragging Robert away, “You’re going home.”

I quickly open the door for them. Robert can barely walk, and Saul has to support him as they both stumble out of the shop.

“I can still drink, Saul,” Robert said, “Let me go.”

“No you can’t,” Saul sighs, “I’m not driving you to the hospital again.”

“Yes, I totally can,” Robert groans – he suddenly stops walking, prompting Saul to stop, too. We all wait nervously to see what’s going to happen –

Robert lets out the loudest burp I’ve ever heard in my entire life, and falls over like he’s going to throw up. I rush to him to help him–

He lets out a few loud coughs, but then we both hear him laugh.

“I’m… I’m fine.”

Man, how much did he drink?

“You should go home, Robert.”

“No, I told you I’m fine–” Robert holds on to Saul to get up. “Come on, let’s go look for ghosts, man.”

 

  * Side with Robert
  * Side with Saul



 

**“Saul, I’m sure Robert will be fine after a walk in the woods.”**

“No, he needs to go home,” Saul insists, “I’ll take care of him. I have to make sure someone’s there if something happens.”

Robert just groans in protest.

“Well, I appreciate that you tried,” Robert tells me, “But Saul here just won’t leave me be.”

  


**“We can go another day, Robert. The Dover Ghost isn’t going anywhere.”**

Robert groans, but I see Saul nod in agreement with me.

“But I wanna go ghost hunting with you guys,” he whines, “You’re always busy, Saul, it’s no fun!”

“I’ll make time so we can go next week, okay Robert?” Saul gently pets his head, “But right now you should go home and rest.”

“Yeah, Robert, your well-being is more important.”

Robert can only sigh in resignation.

  


“This is for your own good, Robert,” Saul said, “Come on, let’s go.”

Saul helps him get back up, and leads him to the car.

“Can you drive?” Saul asks me, “I’ll be with him in the backseat.”

“Sure thing.”

 

We all get into the car. Saul carefully seats Robert down and helps him lean to the back, so that he still sits upright.

“Where should we go, Saul?”

“Do you know where Robert’s house is?”

“Of course, we live almost right next to each other.”

I start the car and drive home. Saul’s sitting quietly at the back, while Robert is mumbling something incoherent – Saul would help him get back up everytime he’s about to fall over to his side.

“Saul…”

I can see from the rearview mirror as Robert leans over, resting his body on Saul’s shoulder. Saul adjusts his sitting position to make sure Robert’s still sitting upright, and protectively wraps his arm around Robert’s shoulder.

“Sorry I kind of ruined your date.”

“It’s alright,” Saul said, “It’s more important to make sure you’re okay.”

“That’s right, Robert,” I chime in, “We’re all friends. We need to watch out for each other.”

They’re both silent again. I continue driving, making sure I obey every traffic sign – I’d hate for Saul to call me out over missing a stop sign or something.

“Saul,” Robert calls again – his voice is softer this time – “You two promise me something.”

“What, Robert?”

“Don’t go ghost hunting without me, okay?”

“Of course we won’t,” I said, “Who’s gonna show us where they hide if not pro ghost hunter Robert Small?”

I hear Robert muster a weak laugh.

On the next stop sign, as I check the rearview mirror, I see Robert’s fallen asleep in Saul’s arms.

  


I park the car on Robert’s driveway, then hop out and open the door for Saul. He hands me Robert’s keys before he carefully carries Robert in his strong dad arms as he walks out of the car.

I unlock the front door of the house, and let Saul carry Robert in and lay him down on the couch.

“Okay,” Saul whispers to me, “Thanks for your help. I’ll take it from here.”

“Are you sure, Saul?”

“I’ve done this before, don’t worry,” he replies, “I’m so sorry our dinner is cut short. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

“Oh, man, don’t worry about it,” I said, “If you need anything, you know which one my house is. Don’t hesitate to knock even if it’s like 3 AM.”

“Thank you so much.” He sighs, “I’d walk you home, but well–”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I head for the door – “See you around, Saul.”

  
  
  
  



	4. Normal Tuesday night

_ “hey. u up?” _

_ “hey hey hey” _

_ “hey dad” _

_ “come to jim and kims for an ass kicking” _

I sigh as I pick up my phone to the barrage of texts. They’re all from Robert. 

“It’s almost 11.”

_ “so what” _

_ “come here i’m lonely” _

_ “and sad” _

“Are you ever not lonely and sad?”

_ “funny” _

_ “i’m really gonna cry now” _

He must be drinking again. I’ve changed into my pajamas and I’m already in my bed watching cat cooking videos…

But I feel bad, thinking about how Robert is spending time alone at the bar. I mean, he always is, but now that he’s asking me to come, I might as well check on him and make sure everything’s fine…

  
  


As I walk into Jim and Kim’s, I see Robert on the bar, nursing a glass of whisky like usual. I quietly slide into the stool next to him, and he turns to look at me. 

“Oh hey,” he greets me, “Didn’t think you’d actually come.”

“You got me worried.”

He seems… sad. Or maybe sad isn’t the right word, but he does seem different from his usual self – more contemplative, more somber. He’s definitely asked me to come out to talk to him – I wonder what happened…

Robert gestures for the bartender to give me a drink, so he gives me a glass of whisky, just like Robert’s. 

“What’s going on, Robert?”

“The usual.”

...Okay, so does he want to talk about it or not?

I let silence take over for a bit, though. Robert takes a sip of his whisky, then sighs deeply. 

“So you know Saul?”

“Yeah… wait, why are we talking about this?”

“Well, you guys were hanging out last time.”

“He dropped Amanda home one time, and like, kind of knew each other from there.”

Robert nods, and he’s silent again as he swirls the whisky in his glass and watches as it makes a small tornado. I honestly can’t tell where the conversation is going, though – why bring up Saul all of sudden?

Honestly though, Saul and Robert are like, total opposites. Saul’s a cop, and he’s really got his life together – Robert, on the other hand, gives no shit about authority. I wonder how they even get along?

“Saul’s a nice guy,” Robert said suddenly, “Weird guy, but I like him.”

“I see.”

I really don’t know what else to say. 

“Met his son?”

“Barry? He’s a good kid.”

“Real ray of sunshine, isn’t he?”

I just nod. Personally I think Amanda is better. 

“He told you about his wife yet?”

“No…”

Now that Robert brought it up, that’s right, I’ve never seen her. Saul doesn’t bring it up, and Barry doesn’t, either. 

I’m dying to ask Robert, but I see he’s fallen silent again, and is staring at the whisky in his glass. 

“I went to see my wife today,” he said, “So I’ve just… been thinking a lot.”

Ah, that makes sense. 

“And I was just thinking, you know, about Saul and I,” he goes on, “How different we are.”

“To be honest, I’m a little jealous of him. My family fell apart after my wife died, but somehow he’s able to keep his family together. The same with you, too.”

He suddenly downs the rest of his whisky, and slams the glass on the table. 

“I’m such a fucking failure.”

I’ve never seen Robert like this before, he seems so… tired and vulnerable. I guess he’s always trying to play it tough, act cool around me and Mary, all while hiding these pent up feelings inside. 

 

  * Try to console him
  * Stay put



 

**“Robert, buddy, we all deal with loss differently.”**

I circle my arm around his shoulder and pull him closer, but he quickly pushes me away. 

“Yeah, that’s fucking easy for you to say!” he shouts angrily, “Don’t pretend like you understand what I’m feeling!”

“Robert, I’m not trying to–”

“I must look fucking pitiful to you, huh? So you think you know better than me?”

That said, he gets up from his seat and heads for the door. I get up too, to go after him–

I see him walking down the street towards the cul-de-sac. Even if I go after him, I don’t think it’ll be a pleasant conversation…

  
  


**I just nod. Sometimes in situations like this, Robert just wants someone to listen to him vent.**

He gestures for Neil to refill his glass, but I see him shake his head. 

“No more for you, Robert.”

“Neil, come on, just one more.”

Neil shakes his head, “I’m not landing you in the hospital.”

Robert sighs, and turns to grab my glass and finish it before I could even react. I see Neil’s expression sour at this, but he doesn’t say anything and just sighs. 

“Fuck man, I don’t wanna think about this anymore,” Robert groans, “But I’m just so fucking sick of myself! I just… I can’t fucking do anything, I can’t even make it up to Val! What kind of dad am I?

“Saul, Saul, despite everything, he’s still looking for whoever or whatever the fuck killed his wife, and he’s still taking good care of his son, and all I can do is…” Robert pauses to take a breath,  and bangs his fist on the table – “I’m just fucking sitting here rotting in my misery!”

Robert stops then, and I can see the tears streaming down his face. I gently wrap my arm around his shoulder and pat his back. 

“Robert, it’s not all your fault.”

“I hate this,” Robert sobs, “Why can’t I do anything? How did I let things get this bad?”

 

~•~

I hear a knock on the door as I’m making dinner. I was just about to turn off the stove to get it when I hear Amanda yell, “One sec!”

“Who is it, Manda?”

“It’s Joseph,” she replies, “I think he’s got food.”

I watch as Amanda opens the door, and it is indeed Joseph standing outside. 

“Good afternoon, Amanda.”

“Hey!” she greets back, “What’s up? Nice pie, by the way.”

“Thank you! It is for you guys. I’m still trying to perfect the recipe.” He hands it to Amanda – “Is your dad home?”

“Yeah, he’s in the kitchen,” Amanda replies, “Come on in!”

A few seconds later Joseph is walking into the kitchen, and suddenly I’m self-conscious about how small and messy my kitchen must look compared to his. Oh no, there goes my self esteem. 

“Hello, neighbor!” Joseph greets me, “Whatever it is you’re cooking, it sure smells good!”

“Thanks, man. Just trying to make some stir fry for dinner,” I reply, “Just let me finish cooking this–”

“Yes, of course!”

I grab my bowl of ground beef and add it into the wok before I start stirring vigorously to try to make sure they don’t lump together. Okay now, add a bit of soy sauce, a bit of oyster sauce – I add some chicken stock to deglaze, and it makes a loud noise as it hits the hot pan. 

Okay, that looks about done. I turn off the heat and transfer the food onto another big plate. 

“You want some, Joseph?”

“I’d love to give it a taste!”

I scoop up a spoon and give it to him to taste. He smiles and nods happily as he eats it–

Whew, I’m happy Joseph likes my food at least. Maybe one day I too can post pictures of my food for Gordon Ramsay to review, although he’d definitely be a harsher critic.

“Thanks for the apple pie, by the way.”

“No worries! I’m trying to perfect my recipe, so I’ve been making them all day,” Joseph said, “I think the crust on this one is a little too soggy, but I hope you like it nonetheless.”

“Bullshit, Joseph, anything you make tastes good in my book,” I said, and he nods happily.

“So it’s just going to rain pies all over the neighborhood?”

“Well, I’m going to drop one at Robert’s place after this,” Joseph said.

Amanda walks into the kitchen and immediately grabs a plate and knife.

“Okay, time to try out the pie!”

“Amanda,” I sigh, “I cooked too, you know.”

“It’s not dinner time yet though!” Amanda’s already cutting into the pie, “You want a slice, dad?”

“Did you forget to offer it to Joseph?”

“Oh…” She smiled sheepishly at Joseph, “You want a slice?”

Joseph just smiles, “It’s alright, Amanda, I have about five more at home.”

So Amanda excitedly cuts herself a big slice and puts it on her plate. 

“I think I should get going then,” Joseph said as he headed for the door, “I’ve got another pie that should be done in about ten more minutes.”

I follow him to walk him out of the door. 

“See you around,” I said, “Good luck with the pies, man.”

“Thank you! I’ll be sure to give you the recipe after I’m done.”

Joseph then pauses for a second, looking like he’s thinking about something. 

“Did you forget anything inside?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Joseph said, “I want to ask you something though.”

“Go ahead.”

“Have you been seeing someone?”

Oh. 

Uhhhh I definitely didn’t expect that question. I smile nervously – 

 

  * Yes
  * No



 

**“Yeah.”**

I just say it as it is, although I’m not so sure why Joseph is suddenly asking me about this. I mean, nothing wrong with it, right? Saul’s a nice guy.

“I see,” Joseph said, “Good for you!”

“Why do you suddenly ask, though?” 

“I’m just curious,” he replied, smiling – “I’m happy for you! What’s his name? Does he live around here?”

“Well, his name is Saul. I haven’t been to his house yet…”

“That’s nice, then! I hope I can meet him sometime,” Joseph said.

“Yeah, sure!” I reply. Not sure when that will happen, though...

“Wait, you should go back now. Aren’t you baking?”

“Oh, you’re right!” Joseph hurriedly runs back towards his house, “See you around!”

“Bye, Joseph!”

 

**“Well, uh, not really, I mean, I guess…”**

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to probe or anything,” Joseph said, “Maybe I’m just overthinking it, but you know, I’m just curious.”

I mean, it’s not like I’m sure what I should call my relationship with Saul. 

We’re… friends, I guess? But he doesn’t seem to be that interested in me beyond that, and I mean, I don’t know him that well yet although we’ve hung out a few times…

“Well, whether or not it’s just a friend or if you’ve got a serious relationship going on, I’m happy for you!” Joseph said with a smile, “I’d love to hear about it sometime!”

He waves at me before he leaves, so I wave back…

I definitely didn’t expect him to ask about Saul though. I wonder where that came from? 


	5. Third date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what they say about third dates. They get pretty serious.   
> Are you sure this is your dream daddy?

_ “Hello there, this is Saul. Last time our dinner was interrupted by unexpected circumstances, so I’d like to make it up to you and invite you to dinner this Friday night, if you’re free.” _

Oh, it’s from Saul. I guess last time we met we had to take care of Robert since he was drunk…

“Sure, man. Where are we going?”

_ “My favorite place on earth.” _

I wonder what he means by that. My favorite place on earth is my bedroom…

...oh boy. 

“Are you watching porn, dad?” Amanda asks suddenly, “Or reading some spicy fanfics?”

“Finish your lunch, Amanda.”

Amanda just giggles as she adds more pasta to her plate. 

Either way, I’m sure Saul doesn’t mean it… that way. Yeah, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to do that. But then I wonder what he means by “his favorite place on earth”?

“Wanna give me a clue?”

_ “You’ll see.” _

Damn, Saul. 

He agrees to pick me up at six this Friday. Well, six o’clock sure seems pretty early…

I guess I have to keep guessing until Friday. Man, he’s got me all curious now. 

  
  
  


Saul arrives at my house at exactly six o’clock. 

“Damn, Saul, where are we going?” I ask as he’s opening the door for me – “You’ve got me guessing all week.”

“Oh, well, it’s nothing special, really,” Saul said, “I’m just taking you to Franklin’s.”

“Holy shit.”

Franklin’s? He means… the best barbeque in town? That’s got like ten awards and has TV shows and food magazines giving them top reviews? I’ve always wanted to go there since it opened last year, but I’ve just been too busy.

“I mean, I hope you like barbeque.”

I grab his arm and nod slowly. 

“Saul, dude. You’re my hero.”

  
  


It’s actually quite crowded when we get there. There’s a line of people in front of the front door–

We hop in at the end of the line. There’s probably around… nine or ten people in front of us. I’m not too surprised, given how popular this place is.

“Do you come here a lot, Saul?”

“Well, you need to be smart about the timing,” he said, “This line is okay. On a bad day we could be standing out here for two hours… hopefully this will take less than an hour.”

“Is it really that good? I’ve never been here before…”

“Well, then, prepare to have your mind blown.”

“I’m ready.”

He smiles and nods.

“So anything interesting going on?” Saul asks, “At work, maybe? You never talk about it.”

“Yeah, because my work is pretty uninteresting…”

“You wouldn’t be doing it if it’s not interesting.”

I smile sheepishly, “I’m just a movie critic.”

“Man, what do you mean that’s not interesting? I’d love a job like that,” Saul replied, “But now I also understand why you get along really well with Robert.”

Ah, he’s talking about Robert again...

“Yeah, listening to his movie rants can be pretty inspiring, alright,” I said, “Maybe next time I need write something, I’ll just take him to the bar. 

“What movies do you usually watch though, Saul?”

“That’s more of Barry’s department,” Saul sighs, “He watches a lot of TV… most of them are things like CSI or other true crime stuff.”

Why am I not surprised…

“But those things… man, they really make it look easy,” he goes on, “Being a police or the FBI… i’s not always like action, shooting and arresting people. I tell you, about eighty percent of it is writing reports or doing some other paperwork.”

“Well, that’s true of a lot of movies,” I reply, “Most of the time they try to compress something that happens over… like years, into one or two hours. Of course they have to cut out all the paperwork montages.”

“I like crime documentaries a lot more,” he said, “It’s more… realistic.”

We walk a few steps forward as someone ahead of us gets seated. I see it’s a group of three… maybe our turn will come soon, too.

“Crime documentaries?” 

“Yeah, stuff like cold murder cases…” He pauses to think – “Like, you know, JonBenet Ramsey, stuff like that.”

“But those are unsolved, aren’t they?”

“Well, not everything in this world is perfect,” Saul said, “In a perfect world all criminals would have been caught and given the punishment they deserve.”

“Oh…”

Well, that just suddenly got really deep…

“It’s still nice to watch them. Maybe because I’m a detective myself,” he goes on, “I like to try to guess what’s going on myself, too, come up with my own conclusion of it. Not that anyone will take it too seriously, though.”

“You really do love your job, huh…”

He smiles, “I guess you can say so.”

We both fall silent again. I see that Saul’s looking around at a couple other cars that just arrived – I guess the line will be getting longer behind us. The people ahead of us haven’t moved yet, and I’m really starting to be unsure how long this will take…

But man, I can smell the smoke from over here, and it’s amazing. I’m hungry already. 

“Anything else interesting recently?”

“Um…”

 

  * Talk about Amanda
  * Talk about Robert
  * Talk about Joseph



 

**“Well, I know Amanda’s having some problems with her friends…”**

“Oh, that sounds fun.”

“It’s also such a classic problem. She has a crush on this guy who turns out to be secretly dating her best friend.” I shake my head with a sigh, “I would have taken both of them out, but she’s too nice. She doesn’t want me to retaliate and all…”

“Give me his name and address, I’ll deal with it.”

“Oh, wow, Saul,” I laugh, “I really didn’t expect that, coming from you.”

“I’ve done it with some of Barry’s friends,” Saul replied, “It’s no big deal. They get the message.”

  
  


**“I met Robert at the bar the other day.”**

Saul nods slowly, “How is he?”

“The usual, you know,” I replied, “He went to visit his wife’s grave. He was pretty sad.”

Saul sighs and shakes his head, “He just keeps blaming himself for what happened… I wish he’d stop doing that sometimes.”

“I agree…”

“I suppose it’s natural to want to do that. I guess it’s a part of grieving,” he said, “I kept thinking about it after my wife died, too. Things like… maybe if I’d gone with her, she’d still be here… stuff like that.”

Yeah, I can definitely understand that. Amanda doesn’t know this, of course, but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how maybe if I’d done this, if I’d done that, Alex could still be alive. It’s useless, of course – no amount of hindsight can change the past, and continuing to think like that can easily make you feel sad all over again...

  
  


**“Do you know Joseph Christiansen?”**

“I think I’ve met him before…” He pauses to remember – “I think he’s white. He’s a pastor or something, right? Blond hair, pretty tall…”

“Yeah, you got it.”

“What about him?”

“No, you know, I just thought about him,” I replied, “He kind of asked about you the other day.”

“He did?” Saul squints slightly, as if suspicious. 

“Yeah, just kind of casually. He asked me if I’d been seeing you.”

Saul nods slowly, thoughtfully. 

“Interesting.”

  
  
  


And suddenly we’re already at the front of the line. I can now see the big grill with all the meat on top, and the smell is intense. Oh boy…

“What do you want to get?”

“I don’t know, Saul, I’m too overwhelmed with all this food.”

Saul just laughs at that remark. I do want to eat everything here, though...

We buy about four pounds of meat before taking it to a bench outside so we can sit down and eat. It’s pretty busy, so we sit down next to each other on a tight spot among the other patrons. I look down at the spread of food–

“...can we really finish all this?”

“Of course,” Saul replies, “Once you start eating, you can’t stop.”

“There goes my fitness program,” I say as I pick up a rib. It smells amazing, and look at that glistening of the fat and the sauce…

I take a big bite out of it. The meat is so tender and moist, and the sauce is sweet…

...and before I know it, the meat on the entire rib is gone. I turn to look at Saul, who just nods approvingly at me.

“Yeah, that’s how you’re supposed to eat it.”

  
  
  


“You know,” he said, “I really enjoy your company.”

“Mm-hm,” I reply, “Same here.”

The silence hangs for a few seconds as we both stare into the distance, at the rest of the restaurant. I snuggle closer to him – Saul feels so nice and warm…

“You’re a good person,” he went on, “I’m glad that we’re… friends.”

“Damn, Saul, you’re scaring me,” I said, “Is this the part where you tell me you only have three months left to live?”

“Well, no, it’s just…” he sighs, “I’m not perfect.”

“Well damn, Saul, nobody is.”

“You don’t understand,” he said, “I… I’ve been through a lot, and so has my Barry. Everything I do now, I’m doing for him, so he can go to college or wherever the hell he likes.”

“That’s all of us, man,” I said, “That’s part of being a dad, isn’t it? Heck, I’ll kill anyone who crosses Amanda.”

Saul smiles at that remark. 

He’s silent again as he wraps his arm around my shoulder, holding me firmly. It almost feels as if he’s trying to protect me…

Everything around us seems to melt into a blur. People are still walking around and talking, but right now I can feel that Saul has his attention solely on me, and my attention is solely on him, too. Everything else becomes unimportant background noise. 

It feels like we’re just part of the crowd – who cares what we’re talking about? Everyone here is talking or laughing about something here. There’s a nice feeling of secrecy although we’re in public.

“I thought that, too,” he said, “That I’d do anything and everything for my son.”

...I mean, he is, isn’t he? I don’t really know what he’s trying to say…

“And Robert, too. Sometimes when he’s drunk, he’d go on and on about how good I am to Barry and talk about how he wish he’d done that to his own daughter.

“But the truth is, after Bella’s death, I… don’t know how to react either. I had to look strong for Barry – hell, he was, what, nine or ten back then. He’s too young to be dealing with all this. 

“And somewhere along the way, I kept searching and searching, trying to find out what happened to her, who did this to her – and I want to find the truth for him. Let him know what happened to his mum, whose fault it is. But Barry, he’s… he’s such a good person, he doesn’t feel any hate, any anger to whoever could have done it to her.”

Saul pauses to sigh.

“I guess at some point it shifted from doing it for him to… doing it for myself. I don’t know how else I can forgive myself otherwise. I’m a detective, and yet I let my wife die like that and then never found the culprit. What kind of failure am I?”

He turns to look at me with a sad smile.

“And it’s… it’s not just me. It’s also Robert’s wife. It’s also your spouse. You would think I’d have found an answer by now…”

...wait, what does he mean by that?

Robert’s wife died in a car crash, right? And… and what’s that about his wife and Alex? 

I remain silent, although I feel hundreds of questions rushing through my head. Does he know what really happened? Why Alex didn’t come home that night, and–

“I don’t even know what to… believe anymore, sometimes,” he said, “If the world is just, then why do these things happen to those who don’t deserve it? And why can’t justice be served to them?”

He just sighs and shakes his head. 

“Sorry for ranting,” he said, “I just… haven’t had anyone to talk to about this.”

“It’s okay…”

Well, I am still curious about what he said about both his wife and Alex. I suppose he doesn’t really know what happened either, but now that he mentioned it…

Is he trying to say that something is related between their deaths? That something much bigger is in the works here and he’s trying to investigate it?

  
  


We’re both quiet on the drive home. I’m not too sure what to say after all that – there’s just so much I want to ask, but at the same time I’m not sure if I should ask him anything right now. I don’t want him to be sad again.

At some point he plays his Amy CDs, maybe just to kill the silence. I look out of the window…

“What do you think of Robert?”

“He can do better if he tries,” Saul replied readily, “I’m trying to convince him to go to therapy.”

“He likes you a lot, you know that?”

Saul nods. 

“He talks about you a lot, too,” Saul tells me, “Like how he wish he’d been as good to Val as you are to Amanda.”

Oh. Did he? 

I guess that’s not something you bring up easily in conversation, huh…

“I don’t know. Barry said I get a little overprotective sometimes, and well, I just don’t want anything to happen to him. He’s my son,” Saul goes on, “Maybe I just have the same feeling for Robert, and you too. I don’t want anything bad happening to my friends. Or anyone, in that manner. I guess it’s also partly because I’m a policeman.”

He slows down and turns to look at me. 

“So if you ever need help with anything, just… you know, give me a call, alright?”

“Of course,” I reply, “Same for you, Saul. Dads gotta look out for each other, am I right?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I JUST STARTED SCHOOL SO... STILL SETTLING IN  
> there will be just one more chapter after this, kind of the afterparty scene. i'll try to get it down quickly!


	6. Epilogue

I can’t believe Amanda’s already graduation high school. It feels like she was just a baby yesterday, and now she’s going off to college…

It’s been eighteen years, huh… Time sure flies by.

All the other dads are busy congratulating Amanda. She sure seems to be enjoying all the attention from the dads who are trying to give her advice about studying and friends. 

“It’s pretty dangerous when you’re walking around at night by yourself,” I heard Saul tell her, “I’m sure your school will have affiliations with the local police department. See if they can walk you home, okay? Try to not go alone.”

“You got it, Mr. Graves!” she replied, “Hopefully I make some friends with the police officers there, then I can play with their dogs!”

“That’s really not the point…”

I notice then that Barry is walking up to me. 

“Hey, Barry.”

“Hello, sir,” he greets me, “I just wanna say thanks, you know, for being friends with pops.”

“Oh, come on, you don’t need to thank me for that,” I said, “He’s a really nice guy.”

“I know, it’s just that he doesn’t always think highly of himself,” he said, “I guess he’s always stressed and tired from work and all that, but I think since you guys started hanging out he’s been more calm, too.”

“I think you’re giving me a little too much credit there,” I said sheepishly, “But thanks.”

Barry offers me a hand to shake, so we shake hands. Damn, he’s so mature. And his mannerisms are exactly the same as Saul’s…

“And I’ll go, uh… get some ice cream cake.”

“Of course, of course! Go ahead!”

So he leaves and joins Craig’s twins at the table. They seem to be trying to get the slices with the most Oreos in them. 

 

I notice Robert and Saul sitting on the bench under the tree. Robert seems to be doing most of the talking, while Saul just listens patiently and nods every once in a while. I can’t really hear what they’re talking about from here, though.

Robert seems to notice that I’m watching them, and gestures at me to come over, patting the empty space on the bench next to him. Well, why not, I guess?

“Hey, buddy,” he said as I sit down, “So how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, I guess…”

“Hmm?” Robert asks, “Aren’t you sad your daughter has to go off to college?”

“Well, that’s just part of being a parent, I guess,” I reply, “They can’t be kids forever, too.”

Robert nods slowly with a smile, and turns to look at Saul. He then sighs and wraps his arms around our shoulders and pulls us closer, so he’s sort of sandwiched in the middle.

“You know, I’m really glad to have you two,” he said. “You guys are the only ones I can call friends. Other than Mary, I guess.”

“Come on, Robert, it’s not as bad as you think.”

“Nonono, what I’m trying to say is, I’m glad we’re all getting along,” he said, “We should all go out drinking sometime. And I’ll try to not get too drunk.”

“Yeah, you better not,” Saul chimes in, “You should start taking care of yourself better, Robert.”

“Hmm, what’s that?”

“I said you should–”

Robert suddenly gets up and walks away, like a little kid who’s trying to escape a lecture from their parents. He looks back at Saul after a few steps and smiles sheepishly, but he clearly has no intention of coming back to us. 

“Oh well,” I turn to Saul, “At least you tried.”

Saul just sighs and shakes his head. 

 

“Are you sad?”

“Well, a little,” I replied, “I’ll be by myself once she’s gone off to college. I guess it’s just a five hour drive, but it’ll take some time getting used to.”

“They all have to leave the nest someday, huh?”

I watch Amanda trying to cut more pieces of the ice cream cake. Seems like she’s having some trouble cutting them into evenly sized sections, and Daisy’s trying to help her with… a folded paper plate. Hey, that’s actually a pretty good idea.

“I’m sure she’ll do just fine.”

“Still,” Saul adds, “Don’t hesitate to ask me for help.”

“Same goes for you,” I tell him, “You’ve been trying to take care of Robert and Barry, Saul, but I think you need some of your own time to think. About yourself, about Barry, you know, about… things.”

Saul falls silent for a minute, seemingly deep in thought. 

He’s probably been thinking a lot, too, since he told me about all his problems back then. I’m just… not sure how to talk to him about those problems – because I don’t really know the full picture – he’s been reluctant to tell me the whole truth. 

He scoots closer to me and presses a kiss on my forehead.

“Thank you,” he said, “I appreciate your concern.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME I HOPE I DELIVERED ON YOUR EXPECTATIONS!! I'd really love to hear what you think about the fic or just talk to me about Saul. I really love my mysterious dad and I will keep producing content


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